Reformist Journalist Slams Critics Of Iran Attack On Israel
Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, a renown Iranian reformist journalist, has branded critics of the recent Iranian military strike against Israel as "defenders of the devil."
Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, a renown Iranian reformist journalist, has branded critics of the recent Iranian military strike against Israel as "defenders of the devil."
Shamsolvaezin expressed support for the attack in an interview with the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), saying, "Unfortunately, some inside the country have become defenders of the devil, claiming that nothing has happened and that the missiles did not hit at all; they promote and reproduce 99 percent of the Israeli narrative, which is very dangerous."
His remarks coincide with increased pressure from the IRGC on the media and journalists to align with the regime's narrative. On Saturday, the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC urged the Iranian public to report any pro-Israel activities observed online.
Legal action has also been initiated against the Jahan Sanat newspaper and one of its journalists for allegedly "compromising national security" through their coverage of the operation against Israel.
Shamsolvaezin, 66, is a doyen of the Iranian media scene who edited several of Iran's foremost independent newspapers post-revolution, including Kayhan, Jame'eh, Neshat, and Asr-e Azadegan. He is also the spokesperson for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press and vice president of the Association of Iranian Journalists. The CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner in 2000, Shamsolvaezin has been to jail many times due to his journalism.
On the military front, Iran's retaliation against Israel involved over 350 drone and missile launches Saturday night, following an airstrike on April 1 that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed several IRGC members, including two high-ranking commanders.
Despite the significant number of projectiles being intercepted by Israeli defenses and their allies, the Iranian regime has declared the operation a “success.” Iran's proxies in Iraq and Yemen also participated in the coordinated attack.
According to all evidence, 99 percent of Iranian projectiles failed to hit targets in Israel, mainly due to strong and multi-layered air defenses. The United States, Britain and Jordan also launched warplanes to shoot down incoming drones and cruise missiles.
However, as Netanyahu's war cabinet favors a retaliatory attack to re-establish deterrence against Israel’s sworn enemy, the US President tries to dissuade Israel from escalating the faceoff arguing that the failure of the Iranian attack is already a victory in itself.
President Biden has tiptoed around his support for Israel in recent weeks, after his strong stance immediately after the October 7 Hamas invasion. Critics say that the president should hold the Iranian regime responsible for all the mayhem in the region, should not offer any further sanctions waivers to Tehran and must re-establish deterrence against Iran.
The threat of open warfare erupting between the arch Middle East foes and dragging in the United States put the region on edge, triggering calls for restraint from global powers and Arab nations.
"The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a Security Council meeting called on Sunday in response to the strikes.
Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood called on the council to unequivocally condemn Iran's attack.
"Let me be clear: if Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible," he said.
Still, Biden told Netanyahu the US would not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran over the attack, a White House official said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke to counterparts including in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, stressing the need to avoid escalation, the importance of a coordinated diplomatic response, and emphasizing the US will continue to support Israel's defense.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu's five-member war cabinet favored retaliation in a meeting on Sunday, although the panel was divided over the timing and scale of any such response.
Two senior Israeli ministers signaled retaliation was not imminent and that Israel would not act alone.
"We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us," centrist minister Benny Gantz said ahead of a war cabinet meeting.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also said Israel had an opportunity to form a strategic alliance "against this grave threat by Iran."
Chief of staff of Iranian armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on television, "Our response will be much larger than tonight's military action if Israel retaliates against Iran," and told Washington that its bases could also be attacked if it helped Israel retaliate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran had informed the United States its attack on Israel would be limited and for self-defense and that regional neighbors had been informed of its planned strikes 72 hours in advance.
Turkish, Jordanian and Iraqi officials said on Sunday that Iran gave wide notice days before the attack, but US officials said Tehran did not warn Washington and was aiming to cause significant damage.
The leaders of the Group of 7 nations condemned Iran's attack and said they would work to stabilize the situation, warning in a statement that Tehran risked "an uncontrollable regional escalation."
With reporting by Reuters
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